IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN NOT THE ANSWER MP TELLS WEST COUNTRY TONIGHT
August 18, 2009 10:36 AM
Responding to calls from the public for an immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan in the face of the mounting death toll, Nick Harvey yesterday told ITV West Country Tonight that this was not the answer.
"An immediate withdrawal would be disastrous," said Nick interviewed outside RMB Chivenor. "We must protect and support the Afghan elections, once these are out the way we must then sit down and talk with the Taliban."
When pressed on this contentious issue Nick responded "The only way ahead is to include the Taliban in the political process. We must not let them win by shaping public opinion and derailing what we have achieved."
The death of Private Richard Hunt on Saturday pushed the number of fatalities in Afghanistan to 200 (a further four soldiers have since been killed).
Graham Knight, whose son Ben died when a Royal Air Force Nimrod aircraft exploded over Afghanistan in 2006, said it was time for a pullout.
For more information on Afghanistan see:
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